Tell me why it's better than gasoline.
Ethanol is an alternative fuel. It lowers our addiction to oil and burns cleanly.
But think again. Should we consider ethanol? Is it our best reasonable choice? 7110 lbs of corn produces about 328 gallons of ethanol. Therefore if all the cars in U.S. ran on ethanol, then 97% of U.S's land must be covered in corn. Also the cost ratio of gasoline to ethanol is about 2:1.
Ethanol is not to be used to suit mass production anytime soon. To fully put the "ethanol program" into effect, nearly everybody in the states would have to buy a new vehicle since most cars in america is made to run on gasoline and not made to run on ethanol. Ethanol costs more, and it creates much less energy when burned. In fact, the produces 2/3 the energy produced from gasoline.
So do you really want to pay more to buy some fuel that won't produce that much energy?
So you say it burns clean. What will burning clean ever do to our environment?
I'm going to stay within what I know in this comment. In particular, I don't know the specifics about the effect of car exhaust on the environment, so I won't comment on whether ethanol should be preferred because of the properties of the exhaust it produces.
ReplyDeleteFirst, you claim, "Also the cost ratio of gasoline to ethanol is about 2:1." Gasoline being twice as expensive as ethanol doesn't really support your argument; is this a typo error?
One reason to support ethanol is that it is a fuel that we can produce. Having a supply, albeit not a very large one necessarily, of ethanol would be good, as it reduces our dependence on oil companies. People want to get into the ethanol business (this is the premise of the "ethanol craze", correct?), and increased competition will cause oil companies to cut costs and innovate. Furthermore, public perception that ethanol is environmentally-friendly (regardless of the facts) will drive oil companies to protect the environment as well. Any new product that can compete with existing products is good, driving innovation and efficiency.
That ethanol and gasoline are incompatible is a sign that ethanol as a fuel is still not fully developed. Eventually there will be a way to refine corn such that normal combustion engines will be able to safely and reliably use either (or both) fuel sources.
Finally, while I agree that completely switching to ethanol fuel is not a good idea based on the data you cite, I think there still is a place for ethanol in the fuel market. Consider, as a final argument, what to do with a corn surplus. Certainly we should make at least some use of extra corn if we can.
Is your stance that we should shun ethanol altogether or merely that the benefits of ethanol are overemphasized and that we need to look at the pros and cons of ethanol more critically?
Whoops typo. should be 1:2 as gasoline twice the cost of ethanol.
ReplyDeleteHere's a great game to play to 1see our independency of oil. Great game
http://www.molleindustria.org/en/oiligarchy